second gen rams came with the 46re or 46rh. a friend of mine ran his 210k before he sold the truck and mine gave up 80k on my 02. trans is ok, but coverter and valve body issues cause the failures. i guess they can be built up solid for big money but you would be better off with the new hemi and 545rfe trans. or hemi and 6-speed manual out of a 3/4 ton.

A '97 would have a 46re behind the 360. They stopped using the 46rh in '95. The 46re lasts a little longer than the 44re that was behind the 318's, but not much. Anything over 80k is a gift with those trannies.

second gen rams came with the 46re or 46rh. a friend of mine ran his 210k before he sold the truck and mine gave up 80k on my 02. trans is ok, but coverter and valve body issues cause the failures. i guess they can be built up solid for big money but you would be better off with the new hemi and 545rfe trans. or hemi and 6-speed manual out of a 3/4 ton.

The new 3/4 ton Hemi's get a 6-speed? My parents have an '04 2500 Hemi with the 5-speed manual...that thing rips with the 4.10 rear...

My '97 Ram with the 5.9L is on its 4th trans in 150K miles, everything else is perfect on the truck, just likes to chew the trans up every 40k or so miles. It does see a LOT of towing, much of it through mountains (I'm from PA and travel home quite a bit).

your right they were a 5 speed. 6 speeds came with the ctd. can't get a hemi with a manual for 09 by the looks of it.

I know when they got theirs, you couldn't get a 1500 with a manual Hemi. They special ordered theirs (no one wanted to touch it, in case they backed out and they would be stuck with a stick Hemi), it took I think 9 months for them to get it after they ordered it.

honestly its not the trans itself thats bad. its usually the convertor or VB that messes stuff up. I had mine built up for 800 and that included a new convertor and the guy gaurentted it wouldnt break for what i was doin. (wheeling and towing) alls you have to do is upgrade the VB and convertor and replace the wave clips in there with flat ones out of a 727 or something. the wave clips like to break cause the clutch packs to come apart. so its all in how you look at it i guess. yes they go bad but they can be made to handle whatever for not much money at all.

honestly its not the trans itself thats bad. its usually the convertor or VB that messes stuff up. I had mine built up for 800 and that included a new convertor and the guy gaurentted it wouldnt break for what i was doin. (wheeling and towing) alls you have to do is upgrade the VB and convertor and replace the wave clips in there with flat ones out of a 727 or something. the wave clips like to break cause the clutch packs to come apart. so its all in how you look at it i guess. yes they go bad but they can be made to handle whatever for not much money at all.

who did your upgrades for you? i have over 200,000 miles on my tranny (stock).

a guy out of grand rapids did mine. he works out of his garage but he knows his stuff when it comes to dodge transmissions. he does most of the dodge trans's at u.s. 131 dragway. pm me or something if you want his number and name.

or run a manual trans. nv3500 or nv4500 w/ 23 spline output will both bolt to your 231. I have the 318 and 3500 I'm putting in my TJ. Also plan to build the 360 core I have to swap in latter with a 4500. Should be pretty bulletproof then.

When it comes to Dodge Tranny's, you have to adjust the bands on EVERY tranny filter change. When you change your tranny fluid every 35000 to 40000 miles, you can adjust the tension on your bands to prevent them from slipping and then ruining the transmission. I've had a Mopar guy explain that its simple, but get a book to make sure what your tolerances should be.

When it comes to Dodge Tranny's, you have to adjust the bands on EVERY tranny filter change. When you change your tranny fluid every 35000 to 40000 miles, you can adjust the tension on your bands to prevent them from slipping and then ruining the transmission. I've had a Mopar guy explain that its simple, but get a book to make sure what your tolerances should be.